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RBZ director, Bank Supervision Division, Mr Norman Mataruka (second from right) rings the bell to mark the beginning of trading of GetBucks Zimbabwe on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange while flanked by (from left) GetBucks operations director Gerrie Fourie, MD Mercy Murevesi and executive director Mr Tim Nuy (first from right). — (Picture by Munyaradzi Chamalimba)

Conrad Mwanawashe Business Reporter
GETBUCKS Zimbabwe listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange on Friday but there were no trades in the counter as buyers offered a lower price while sellers were not willing to offload.

GetBucks listed after an Initial Public Offer that raised $3,2 million and became the second listing in the automated trading environment and the third listing within a space of eight months after ProPlastics and Simbisa.

The financial technology company listed on the ZSE despite the tough macro-economic conditions prevailing in the country which saw GetBucks IPO being under-subscribed at 2,29 percent with the underwriter taking more than 91 422 131 ordinary shares.

Some investors snapped up 2 145 120 and the underwriter took at the close of the IPO.

ZSE Listings Committee chairperson Mrs Vimbai Nyemba said the listing of GetBucks demonstrates that the economic outlook should not dim the faith in the significant role of capital markets.

Mrs Nyemba said listing on the bourse will help GetBucks’ growth path.

“We believe the listing of GetBucks Zimbabwe will result in its continued growth as it receives free advertising on our frequently-visited ZSE website, one of the advantages of listing. More importantly, we hope that shareholders will enjoy profitable returns to their investments and the investing community will now have an additional alternative pick,” said Mrs Nyemba.

GetBucks Zimbabwe commenced operations in 2012 as a credit-only micro-finance institution and within four years, has transformed to a listed deposit-taking micro-finance banking institution, overtaking those established much earlier than it.

The company received its deposit-taking licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe last week.

Guest of honour at the symbolic listing ceremony, the RBZ director, Bank Supervision Division Mr N Mataruka said the banking sector is poised for growth with improved capacity to support the economy arising from policy initiatives being implemented by Government and the central bank.

“The banking sector has demonstrated significant resilience in spite of a challenging operating environment and has significantly contributed to the transformation of the Zimbabwe economy,” said Mr Mataruka.

He said the development of financial markets is a critical and inextricable part of the economic growth process.

“This largely stems from the sector’s role as a provider of positive externalities through mobilising savings, allocating resources to productive sectors and providing liquidity and payment services,” Mr Mataruka said.

He said the three deposit-taking micro-finance institutions, including GetBucks, recently licensed by the central bank are expected to spearhead the financial inclusion agenda and reach out to the unbanked and under-banked sections of society through appropriately tailored products and services.

“It is our expectation that the institutions design product offering that are responsive to the needs of lower end of the economic spectrum,” said Mr Mataruka.

The listing bears testimony that the stock market still provides an avenue for capital raising and flexible corporate restructuring initiatives.

Mrs Nyemba said the ZSE is transforming itself to deliver value for money to its stakeholders as evidenced by our projects such as the recent successful automation of the exchange and the imminent demutualisation.

The transformation includes the automation of the ZSE which has improved efficiencies in terms of price discovery, speed of trade execution, reduced errors and provision of real time data.

“The ZSE also awaits gazetting of its revised listings requirements for the main board. In addition, the ZSE is working on the revival of the regulated trading platform for fixed income securities and creating a board for the listing of SMEs with the support of key stakeholders such as the Honourable Minister, RBZ, SECZ and CDC present here today,” she said.